From Laura: “My all time favorite portrait was a very vulnerable moment with my daughter. She has battled Alopecia the past 4 years, loosing her hair at 14 years old. We’ve been through some very hard days together. But I’ve watched her mature and come into herself as a woman. She took her wig off and we were able to take some of us laughing and embracing. Those pictures will forever be something I will cherish and I hope are passed down for generations to come.”

I was sure she would say no, but I had to try, so I asked if she would model for me and to my astonishment and delight she said yes in the prettiest English accent I’ve ever heard. 

“There’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours begin.”

Megan said this to me afterwards:

You made me feel really pretty, Anna… I haven’t felt that in a long time. I’m serious, I cried. You really blew my mind! I love my photos, I will cherish them always.

What on earth is better than 4 generations of women getting together to celebrate the life and legacy of their matriarch? 

Absolutely nothing. Nothing could be better.

I know what it’s like to lose a family member unexpectedly. Its so easy to put family portraits on the back burner, forget about them, assume that “they’ll always be there”…. until they aren’t and it’s too late. These three lovely women came into my studio for Mothers Day and after their full hair-and-makeup makeover, […]